STEM education in Thailand : an assessment of its impacts on students' perception, perceived skills and future career interests | |
| Author | Jessada Engkapatrangk |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.RD-18-01 |
| Subject(s) | Education--Thailand--Science Education--Thailand--Technology Education--Thailand--Engineering Education--Thailand--Mathematics College students--Thailand--Attitudes |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Regional and Rural Development Planning, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. RD-18-01 |
| Abstract | Since the initial implementation of STEM education program in Thail and in 20 14, there was still limited knowledge about this program. The effectiveness and the consequence of the implementation of STEM education program still unclear. Therefore, the objectives of this study were; to examine and assess the differences of students' perception on STEM content and careers between students from the school with and without STEM education program; to examine and assess the differences of students' perceived analytical thinking, problem so lving, and basic technological skills between students from the school with and without STEM education program; to assess the impacts of STEM education program on students' career interest and; to provide an implication or recommendation for the implementation of STEM education in Thail and other countries with similar context. Four schools in Thailand have been selected as the case studies, consist of an urban school with STEM education program, a rural school with STEM education program, an urban school without STEM education program, and a rural school without STEM education program. The urban schools in this study are located in Bangkok while the rural schools are located in Ubon Ratchathani in the northeast region of Thai land. The study used a questionnaire survey as the main quantitative data collection tool, with a total 416 samples from all 4 schools. In addition, a head of two RSECs have been interviewed by a semistructured interview to collect additional qualitative information. This study found that; the implementation of STEM education program has no effect on the students' perception on any STEM contents and careers; the implementation of STEM education program has increased the students ' frequency of basic technological skill used but it affected students to have a lower attitude towards problem- solving skill and; the implementation of STEM education program has an impact on students' future intended career domain. It enhanced students to have a better decision-making on their future intended career domain while many students from the school without STEM education program still undecided on their future intended career domain. Certain recommendations were given in this research in accordance with the findings to improve the effectiveness of the implementation of STEM education program in Thailand. |
| Year | 2018 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. RD-18-01 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Rural Development, Gender and Resources (RD) |
| Chairperson(s) | Thi Phuoc Lai Nguyen; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Ahmad, Mokbul Morshed;Kusakabe, Kyoko; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Thailand (HM Queen); |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2018 |